The extradition of NRI,
Dr Jayant Patel from US to Australia has moved closer
SYDNEY, Oct. 11, 2007
Suresh Sharma
The extradition of NRI Dr Jayant Patel from the United States
has moved a step closer. The Queensland Office of the Department
of Public Prosecutions has at last completed its necessary paperwork
and sent it to the Federal Justice Department to deal with the
US authorities.
One expert said, it is very clear that it is still a long way
to go and shouldn't preclude officials from dealing with the matter
with the greatest sense of urgency
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Australia to extradite Dr 'Death' Patel
11 Oct 2007, 0236 hrs IST,IANS
SYDNEY: Australia is moving towards the final
stages of extraditing from the US of India-born Jayant Patel who
has been linked to 87 deaths of patients he treated between 2003
and 2005 at a Queensland hospital.
Dubbed "Dr Death" by the Australian media, Patel worked
in the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland and has been in the
US since 2005. In what is probably the worst medical-negligence
scandal in Australia, he allegedly falsified his application to
practice medicine in this country.
He then falsified death certificates and refused patients' transfers
to other hospitals to cover up "botched treatment and surgery".
Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine said: "I am advised
the final signed affidavits are now with the Federal Justice Department.
This was the result of close consultation with Commonwealth officials
to prepare the best possible case for extraditing Jayant Patel."
A US court will ultimately decide whether extradition will be
granted. However, there are still a number of steps before a decision
will be made by the US on the application for Patel's extradition.
Prosecutors are pursuing 16 charges against him, including three
charges of manslaughter, three charges of grievous bodily harm,
two charges of negligent acts causing harm and eight charges of
fraud.
In Queensland, manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment.
Medical practitioners are much in demand in Australia, especially
in remote towns, but Patel's case sparked concerns over the recruitment
of overseas doctors.
Patel, banned from surgery in two US states, was employed at
the regional Bundaberg Base hospital for A$200,000 per annum in
2003. In late 2003, he was promoted to director of surgery at
the hospital.
On April 1, 2005, Patel's bosses signed on a $3,547 business-class,
one-way airfare for him to travel to the US, despite him being
neck-deep in accusations of fatal incompetence.
The Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry was told how in
one case a doctor turned off a woman's life support ventilator
because Patel wanted her bed to operate another patient.
In another case a nurse said she had seen Patel try to drain
blood in a "stabbing motion" from the man's heart, using
a hard needle some 50 times. The man died that night.
One charge related to the care of an Aboriginal woman who developed
gangrene in her leg after she was allegedly left without treatment
for weeks following an amputation.
Questions being asked are if the Australian medical system needs
to undergo a major health check to ensure checks and balances
are in place while recruiting overseas doctors.
Dr M Srinivasa, former president of the Overseas Medical Graduates
Association of Australia, says: "There are very strict policies
and protocols in place for overseas medical recruits. The Australian
Medical Council administers the national examinations of overseas
trained medical practitioners seeking to practice medicine in
Australia. I have been here practising for 35 years, and this
was a one off case."
Indian doctors here also fear that they will be tarred with the
same brush.
As families and loved ones of Patel's patients await justice,
this city of clear skies, sunshine and sugarcane with an urban
population of over 43,000 and only four hours drive north of Brisbane
is yet to come to terms with the pain and suffering caused by
one doctor in their public hospital. Patel treated a total of
1,202 patients during the period the deaths took place.